It was a sad sad exit for probably the greatest football player on earth at present.Like many a stars in the past Zizou also had an unfortunate incident which marred all his good work and reputation bringing a culmination 2 his illustrious football career.

Now the issue is how big an offence was that & was it the offender only 2 blame for what he has done?

Knowing Zidane the gentleman and sportsman he is with his vast experience.....aware that this wld b his last match with a possibility of winning the coveted trophy I DOUBT HE WLD HV DONE THAT HEADBUFF IF NOT PROVOCATED.Definitely there shld b another side of the story which unfortunately goes under the wraps completely unnoticed.If the video recording is seen repeatedly and minutely one can make out that there has been a verbal xchange between the 2......& definitely something obnoxious was said by Materrazi which made Zidane all of a sudden react like that.Knowing that so many TV cameras are glued,knowing that its just 10mins away from the final whistle,knowing that France has already a step ahead for the CUP(definitely the better side of the 2 on the pitch)......surely it wld hv been silly and uncalled for that he will react in such a way without any xtreme provocation.Its reported in the media that Buffon also xchanged few words with Zizou in the match & even tht gesture after saving his header was 2 Zizou only.Now so many factors cld hv been resulted for that terrible act by Zidane.

Not for 1ce am I defending Zidane for what he did.It was a terrible offence which cld hv been fatal also.The referee rightly showed the red card 2 him which was sad 2 see such a glittering career coming 2 an end in such fashion.But my point will remain does FIFA have a system 2 crosscheck or probe as what resulted in that offence?[b]If this kind of system exists then the person who provocated or instigated shld also b taken 2 task & punished for his part played.Isn't it?

It was a sad sad exit for probably the greatest football player on earth at present.Like many a stars in the past Zizou also had an unfortunate incident which marred all his good work and reputation bringing a culmination 2 his illustrious football career.

Now the issue is how big an offence was that & was it the offender only 2 blame for what he has done?

Knowing Zidane the gentleman and sportsman he is with his vast experience.....aware that this wld b his last match with a possibility of winning the coveted trophy I DOUBT HE WLD HV DONE THAT HEADBUFF IF NOT PROVOCATED.Definitely there shld b another side of the story which unfortunately goes under the wraps completely unnoticed.If the video recording is seen repeatedly and minutely one can make out that there has been a verbal xchange between the 2......& definitely something obnoxious was said by Materrazi which made Zidane all of a sudden react like that.Knowing that so many TV cameras are glued,knowing that its just 10mins away from the final whistle,knowing that France has already a step ahead for the CUP(definitely the better side of the 2 on the pitch)......surely it wld hv been silly and uncalled for that he will react in such a way without any xtreme provocation.Its reported in the media that Buffon also xchanged few words with Zizou in the match & even tht gesture after saving his header was 2 Zizou only.Now so many factors cld hv been resulted for that terrible act by Zidane.

Not for 1ce am I defending Zidane for what he did.It was a terrible offence which cld hv been fatal also.The referee rightly showed the red card 2 him which was sad 2 see such a glittering career coming 2 an end in such fashion.But my point will remain does FIFA have a system 2 crosscheck or probe as what resulted in that offence?[b]If this kind of system exists then the person who provocated or instigated shld also b taken 2 task & punished for his part played.Isn't it?

Who is responsible?...Jayant da...to me Zidane himself.In a big match like WC Final...provocation will be there. But if you are a great player ( with so much experience)...why shld you fell into their trap. Italy knew if they cld out Zidane before 90mins...in the penalty shoot out...it wld be a cake-walk for them.

Who is responsible?...Jayant da...to me Zidane himself.In a big match like WC Final...provocation will be there. But if you are a great player ( with so much experience)...why shld you fell into their trap. Italy knew if they cld out Zidane before 90mins...in the penalty shoot out...it wld be a cake-walk for them.

Hirok

Well Hirok hope u will agree that Zidane is not God.He is also a human being like us.Emotion,impulse does run in him also.Its nt a question of trap.When just 10 mins left for the final whistle definitely Zidane is nt tht stupid that he will react so badly tarnishing everything on its way.Definitely some provocation was going on & mayb that was the culmination of everything.If Zidane is responsible for the offence he made then ppl who hv instigated it shld also b taken 2 task.Isn't it?

Apparently, this is not the first time Zidane has had trouble controlling his temper - his first couple of weeks at AC Cannes were spent off the field owing to an incident where he punched some guy during play. No matter what the provocation was, at the end of the day, the person who makes the first physical advance will always be the cynosure of the cameras and will be held more culpable, especially if it is a person of such high stature as Zidane. It was indeed an unfortunate incident, but such is life,

Well there is surely a difference between a Good Player & a Great Player and Zidane surely falls in the later catagory. Being a Proffessional it surely was his duty to overcome all his emotions and provocations. After all he was playing in the Last match of his career , Playing for his country and that too a World Cup Final. IMHO whatever may be the provocations, he should have kept his cool. Surely not expected this from a Great Player.

Provocation, diving is a part of a game, such as sledging in cricket. But great players don't lose their temper, do they? Or put otherwise: Should we consider a player as a great when loses his temper to such an extent that he becomes physical? IMO no.

As Indy correctly pointed out, Zidane had his problem of controlling the temper. He's got a red card at least twice before this, in international matches. Folks correct me if i'm wrong.

I repeat: To be frank I'm happy Italy won the WC, after that horrible Zidane incidence. IMO he is no more even the great player, leave aside the legend. His head butt made him a zero from a hero IMO. It's good that Italy won the match after Zidane was out of the field, it again proves that sports is such a great leveler, no individual is greater than the game itself.

About the post-match investigation: JS, does it matter? It's kinda like post-mortem. And then there are lots of side effects. Whatever is the outcome of the investigation; will it alter the result of the match? It happened for a star player, what about other not-so-popular players? Is it feasible to do the probing for every such incident?

Apparently, this is not the first time Zidane has had trouble controlling his temper - his first couple of weeks at AC Cannes were spent off the field owing to an incident where he punched some guy during play. No matter what the provocation was, at the end of the day, the person who makes the first physical advance will always be the cynosure of the cameras and will be held more culpable, especially if it is a person of such high stature as Zidane. It was indeed an unfortunate incident, but such is life,

Indydave

I have a feling Zidane hates hugging and embracing act (by males). Seconds before the incident the other player involved in this episode was seen trying to hold Zidane from behind with his arm around his neck. I am just corelating this the way Zidane avoids hugging and rejoicing with team mates after scoring a goal. Henry was shown embracing him after Zizou scored against Germany. But zidane's arms were not around him. Can be a psychological thing. In addition the other player must have said something silly as well to add fuel. All said and done Zidane's act was absolutely deplorable, a great player he might be.

I have a feling Zidane hates hugging and embracing act (by males). Seconds before the incident the other player involved in this episode was seen trying to hold Zidane from behind with his arm around his neck. I am just corelating this the way Zidane avoids hugging and rejoicing with team mates after scoring a goal. Henry was shown embracing him after Zizou scored against Germany. But zidane's arms were not around him. Can be a psychological thing. In addition the other player must have said something silly as well to add fuel. All said and done Zidane's act was absolutely deplorable, a great player he might be.

[quote name='indydave' post='43948' date='Jul 10 2006, 08:13 PM']Apparently, this is not the first time Zidane has had trouble controlling his temper - his first couple of weeks at AC Cannes were spent off the field owing to an incident where he punched some guy during play. Indydave[/quote]

Tht was during his budding years.....when most of them r immature.

[quote name='indydave' post='43948' date='Jul 10 2006, 08:13 PM']No matter what the provocation was, at the end of the day, the person who makes the first physical advance will always be the cynosure of the cameras and will be held more culpable, especially if it is a person of such high stature as Zidane. It was indeed an unfortunate incident, but such is life,

Indydave[/quote]

Correct!!And that is the most unfortunate thing which I was voicing for.The reason for the offence will never get probed & the player found guilty who provoked it wld never get punished.Same happened with C.Ronaldinho when he provoked Roonie.

[quote name='bapa1967' post='43967' date='Jul 10 2006, 10:20 PM']Being a Proffessional it surely was his duty to overcome all his emotions and provocations. After all he was playing in the Last match of his career , Playing for his country and that too a World Cup Final. IMHO whatever may be the provocations, he should have kept his cool. Surely not expected this from a Great Player.Bapa[/quote]Bapa bhai its easier said than done.As professionals in our respective fields do we maintain our cool?Its human instinct which is very difficult 2 control.Differs from person 2 person.

[quote name='nittins' post='43975' date='Jul 10 2006, 11:15 PM']Provocation, diving is a part of a game, such as sledging in cricket. But great players don't lose their temper, do they? Or put otherwise: Should we consider a player as a great when loses his temper to such an extent that he becomes physical? IMO no.

[/quote]

How many greats shld I name who has lost their cool in such situations?Ok here r few:maradona,baggio,schillachi,lothar mattheaus,bergkamp,rudd gullit,rijkard,morten olsen,batistuta,beckham,figo.....the list goes on.Please understand after all they r HUMAN BEINGS.A player being great or not doesn't get justified with 1 such incident.Yes its a black spot in his glittering career but when the person concerned is a role model for so many and a superb sports ambassador himself,it will never affect his greatness.Will Figo's greatness be affected for similar headbutting agnst Holland which the referee overlooked?

I repeat: To be frank I'm happy Italy won the WC, after that horrible Zidane incidence. IMO he is no more even the great player, leave aside the legend. His head butt made him a zero from a hero IMO. It's good that Italy won the match after Zidane was out of the field, it again proves that sports is such a great leveler, no individual is greater than the game itself.[/quote]

AFAIR he got a red card only 1ce before in international matches.

Horrible Zidane incident has nothing 2 do with sports being a great leveler.My personal opinion though.Lets admit Italy should thank all their forefathers,ancestrals for the achievement.A team which was blessed by referre's penalty decision aganst australia, a team which got patronage from FIFA & thus beat the Aussies in the last seconds,a team which never looked 2 cross the 2nd round shld consider themselves xtremely lucky.Tell me 1 match xcept agnst Chezch where it looked like they can b world beaters.On the other hand France just outplayed the much vaunted Italian defence and shredded them in2 pieces in the 2nd half.The oldies showed the grit and will how 2 defend and attack.Even after France got rediuced 2 10 men it was France only who came close 2 scoring and not Italy.Moreover winning on tiebreakers is like winning LOTTERY.

[quote name='nittins' post='43975' date='Jul 10 2006, 11:15 PM']

About the post-match investigation: JS, does it matter? It's kinda like post-mortem. And then there are lots of side effects. Whatever is the outcome of the investigation; will it alter the result of the match? It happened for a star player, what about other not-so-popular players? Is it feasible to do the probing for every such incident?[/quote]

It will not alter the result but it will help another MAatterazi or Ronaldo 2 think in future before they do such nuisances if proper investigation is made.Yes if required such red card incidents shld get deeply probed specially when a player's profile is at stake.

How many greats shld I name who has lost their cool in such situations?Ok here r few:maradona,baggio,schillachi,lothar mattheaus,baergkamp,rudd gullit,rijkard,morten olsen,batistuta,beckham,figo.....the list goes on.Please understand after all they r HUMAN BEINGS.

Agreed, but loosing cool and getting physical? And from the list, how many got the red card for their behavior? I recollect only Beckham in 1998 WC.

A player being great or not doesn't get justified with 1 such incident.Yes its a black spot in his glittering career but when the person concerned is a role model for so many and a superb sports ambassador it will never effect his greatness.Will Figo's greatness be affected for similar headbutting agnst Holland which the referee overlooked?

Can Figo's headbutting be compared with Zidanes? JS, as you mentioned in you previous post: It could have been a fatal incident. It was very shameful on his part. No matter what, he should have kept his cool, or vent off his anger by words, but such a hard headbutt?

AFAIR he got a red card only 1ce before.

I think he got it 2-3 times. Ohh, here you go Indy, 14 times in total at all levels.

Horrible Zidance incident has nothing 2 do with sports being a great leveler.My personal opinion though.

Right, I'm just voicing my opinion.

Lets admit Italy should thank all their forefathers,ancestrals for the achievement.A team which was blessed by referre's penalty decision aganst australia, a team which got patronage from FIFA & thuis beating aussies in the last seconds,a team which never looked 2 cross the 2nd round shld consider themselves xtremely lucky.Tell me 1 match xcept agnst Chezch where it looked like they can b world beaters.

Did France played as a world champions from the start? Italian beat Germany, one of the world cup contenders, 2-0, it was not luck IMO.

On the other hand France just outplayed the much vaunted Italian defence and shredded them in2 pieces in the 2nd half.The oldies showed the grit and will how 2 defend and attack.Even after France got rediuced 2 10 men it was France only who came close 2 scoring and not Italy.

Agreed, but the first half? Italians scored the field goal to equalise the score. They possessed the ball for almot 65-70% of the first half.

Moreover winning on tiebreakers is like winning LOTTERY.True, applicable to both the teams.

It will not alter the result but it will help another MAatterazi or Ronaldo 2 think in future before they do such nuisances if proper investigation is made.Yes if required such red card incidents shld get deeply probed specially when a player's profile is in stake.

It's a debatable issue. But yes I agree, it will bring some more joy, a fair game into the football.

[quote name='nittins' post='43995' date='Jul 11 2006, 01:24 AM']Agreed, but loosing cool and getting physical? And from the list, how many got the red card for their behavior? I recollect only Beckham in 1998 WC. [/quote]

Nopes.All of them I mentioned r culprits of seeing a red card in international matches.Some in WC matches.And there r few more whom I didn't mention also like Valderamma,Hagi.....

[quote name='nittins' post='43995' date='Jul 11 2006, 01:24 AM']Can Figo's headbutting be compared with Zidanes? JS, as you mentioned in you previous post: It could have been a fatal incident. It was very shameful on his part. No matter what, he should have kept his cool, or vent off his anger by words, but such a hard headbutt? [/quote]

Headbutting is headbutting.....why the comparision comes?Hv u seen the Figo incident?It was also off the ball.That also cld hv been fatal.Well here I dn't agree with u at all.....tht he cld hv vent off his anger by words.Why so?That means r u supporting Matterazi for what he has done?His verbal abuses.Please go thru 2day's newspapers or the portals and check what this Matty has said.Do u think if the same words he wld hv uttered 2 me or u we cld hv kept our cool?After all he was doing it for quite some time & we all r human beings.Isn't it?

[quote name='nittins' post='43995' date='Jul 11 2006, 01:24 AM']I think he got it 2-3 times. Ohh, here you go Indy, 14 times in total at all levels.[/quote]

I said only 1ce before in inetrnationals.If u probe in tht way then there r players whom we worship who might hv seen a red card some 50times in their entire life.Moreover this flashing of red card is a debatable issue as it differs from referee 2 referee.

[quote name='nittins' post='43995' date='Jul 11 2006, 01:24 AM']Did France played as a world champions from the start? Italian beat Germany, one of the world cup contenders, 2-0, it was not luck IMO.[/quote]

France was anytime the better of the 2 on tht day.Its nt me who is sasying so.....but all the football pundits who has voiced the same.U need nt hv 2 play like a world champ.....but atleast they were far better than the Italians and the 2nd half was just no match.Yes Italy did beat Germany but hv u checked the timing of the goals?Isn't it sheer bad luck for the Germans?Can u pls introspect the way Italians played the entire tournament?Did they look convincing in any match xcept agnst Chezch?

[quote name='nittins' post='43995' date='Jul 11 2006, 01:24 AM']Agreed, but the first half? Italians scored the field goal to equalise the score. They possessed the ball for almot 65-70% of the first half.[/quote]

No Sir.In the 1st half the match statistics of posession of ball was 60-40 in Italian favour.2nd half lets nt discuss as we all hv seen it.Yes the goal that they scored 2 equalise was a world class strike.No doubt abt it.

although they won but its hard 2 accept ITALY as t best team in this WC. They bcome champion due 2 many reason, easy grp, upto prequarters all easy matches, in t prequarter got a blessing - a dubious penalty at t dying moment, then in t quarter Eukrain was never inferior 2 them, its only ITALY scored they didn't, in semis again quite frustratingly they scored at t end and GERMANs didnt even get t time t come back and in t final they were no match for t FRANCE, but I must say buffon,Zambrota,canavaro,andrea pirlo played spiritedly. numerically it was 50% luck added with 50% football for t italians.

abt zidane incident : yes he reacted badly at that moment and surely that happened due 2 provocation, he is a human being accepted but surely nt an average 1, he knew what FRANCE and t whole world was expecting frm him. an average mind reacts in that way while gr8s like him knows better 1 who can keep cool ultimately ends up smiling as in a high voltage match its absolutely reqd. that u don't do anything silly and let down urself. He cud hv easily avoided that incident, it was utterly irresponsible at that moment.well other than this what was t reason Henry,Riberi was substituted? it happened quite surprising at a moment when it was apparent t match is going 2wards t PSO and HEnry taking t shot - u can assume it will b a goal and nothing else. don't know what was t reason

Nway I strongly feel ITALY didn't do anything it was FRANCE who played for them and ultimately lost all their good work due 2 themselves and ITALIANS sliiped through 2 hold t trophy.

Paris: Zinedine Zidane said on Wednesday that Italian defender Marco Materazzi insulted his mother and sister during the World Cup final. In an interview to a French television channel, Zidane also apologised to children and fans but did not regret the attack that led to his sending-off. The French captain reacted to the insult by ramming his head into Materazzi’s chest in the second half of the extra-time of the final match.

“He (Materazzi) pulled my shirt several times and I told him that we could swap shirts at the end of the game if he wanted to,” Zidane said in the interview.

“He said some tough words about my mother and my sister. I tried not to listen to him but he kept repeating them,” Zidane said.

“I knew it was my last game and that there were only 10 minutes to play but things happened very swiftly”, he said.

“I am a man before anything else", he added.

Zidane, widely regarded as the greatest player of his generation and playing the last game of his career, was shown a red card, leaving his teammates to finish the match without him.

Zidane denied Materazzi called him an Islamic “terrorist”, as was reported by a Paris-based anti-racism group. Zidane is of Algerian origin. His parents were born in the village of Aguemone in the Kabylie region.

Fifa decided on Tuesday to open a disciplinary investigation into the incident and Sepp Blatter, head of soccer’s ruling body, hinted that Zidane could be stripped of the tournament’s best player award. The French playmaker said he was ready to face any disciplinary hearing and stressed that he was confident about the outcome.

“If someone can read (Materazzi’s) lips, they will show that I’m telling the truth. The one who is really guilty must be punished,” Zidane said.

“I don’t want to attack anyone but I want to defend myself. I did something wrong and I was punished for that. I ended up alone in the changing room”, Zidane said.

“But I was the one who was provoked and I reacted. It is always the one who reacts who is punished, never the one who provokes and this is not fair,” he said.

Zidane apologised for his behaviour but he said he could not regret it - “I know this is something that one should not do. I want to say that loud and clear because it was watched by two billion people and by millions of kids”, Zidane said, “I want to apologise to them but I can’t regret what I did because it would mean that he (Materazzi) was right in saying what he said. I have taught my kids to respect people and I have taught them that they deserve to be respected in return. I couldn’t let something like that be said without any reaction.”

In an interview published on Wednesday, Blatter hinted that Zidane could lose the Golden Ball.

“Fifa’s executive committee has the right and duty to intervene when it sees behaviour that is contrary to sports ethics,” he was quoted as saying in an interview to a Rome newspaper. Asked if Zidane risked being stripped of the award for the World Cup’s best player, Blatter said: “Before we make any decision, we have to await the outcome of the investigation.

“Being presumed innocent until proven otherwise is sacred principle.” But he added: “Seeing him behave this way really, really hurt me.”

Though I have reservations about which team was and which team was not the best in the tounament, I feel Italy played percentage soccer ..apart from the 2nd round , the USA match & the finals .. where they stuck to the modest rule of Safety first.

Nevertheless, pl find 2 links which shows Matarazzi in all his pristine glory:

Though I have reservations about which team was and which team was not the best in the tounament, I feel Italy played percentage soccer ..apart from the 2nd round , the USA match & the finals .. where they stuck to the modest rule of Safety first.

Nevertheless, pl find 2 links which shows Matarazzi in all his pristine glory:

Friends, At the outset let me make it clear I am not a avid football follower like you people,but couldn't resist writing something on reading these things. I personally found France(not a pure French,but more a team of immigrants) a better team,at least,on the day.But,then, as usual,no one can do anything about results based on penalty shootout. So, many times I feel why can't some different rules can be framed? My suggestion would be to reduce the number of players in extra time only to say 8 or even 7!! to enable goal being scored in this extra time at least.And the pressure will not be only on goalkeeper,but remaining 7-8 best players of the teams concerned.Ajay

Friends, At the outset let me make it clear I am not a avid football follower like you people,but couldn't resist writing something on reading these things. I personally found France(not a pure French,but more a team of immigrants) a better team,at least,on the day.But,then, as usual,no one can do anything about results based on penalty shootout. So, many times I feel why can't some different rules can be framed? My suggestion would be to reduce the number of players in extra time only to say 8 or even 7!! to enable goal being scored in this extra time at least.And the pressure will not be only on goalkeeper,but remaining 7-8 best players of the teams concerned.Ajay